Greta Van Fleet ignites the Iowa State Fair with a high-energy concert
At the Greta Van Fleet concert at the Iowa State Fair, the crowd and atmosphere felt like a classic 1970s rock show, and a rock show is precisely what the band delivered.
The quartet — twin brothers Josh Kiszka and Jake Kiszka, younger brother Sam Kiszka, and lifelong comrade Daniel Wagner — performed the last U.S. tour date for the "Starcatcher World Tour" at the Iowa State Fair.
The Grammy Award-winning band performed a nearly two-hour set, filled with flashy light displays, shots of Fireball, and pyrotechnics that heated the Grandstand, but the band played symphonically.
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The Beaches warm up the crowd
The Beaches, an all-girl rock band that has been together for more than a decade, opened the show. The Beaches features sisters Jordan Miller, lead vocalist and bassist; Kylie Miller, guitarist; plus closest friends Leandra Earl, guitarist and keyboardist; and Eliza Enman-McDaniel, drummer. Enman-McDaniel was not at the concert at the fair, and Karah James of the band Valley was filling in her place.
The band brought raw rock energy and pop sensibility to the show with songs like "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Paranoid," Takes One To Know One," and "Cigarette."
The band playfully engaged in banter and thanked the audience for coming early to see them play. They even shared stories from their previous night out in Des Moines at the Blazing Saddle in the East Village, which earned a loud cheer from the audience.
"Thank you guys so much for being so open and nice," Jordan said. "It's sometimes hard opening for a band, but you guys have been great."
The Toronto-based band ended their set with their biggest hit to date, "Blame Brett," which reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Canada Rock Chart. Their matching white shirts read "Blame Greta," a cheeky nod to the song and headliner.
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Greta Van Fleet delivers an electric performance
At 9:15 p.m. the band made a grand entrance to the stage in glittering outfits before opening with "The Falling Sky," a song that captures the band's soaring vocals, powerful guitar riffs, and dynamic drumming, giving the audience a taste of what else was in store for the night.
"Welcome to the show tonight," lead vocalist Josh Kiszka announced to the crowd. "Smoke them if you've got them, and clothing is optional."
The band's most recent release and Grammy-nominated album, "Starcatcher," which came out in July 2023, dominated the setlist, with songs like "The Indigo Streak," "Fate of the Faithful," "The Archer," and "Sacred the Thread."
The crowd was less worried about singing along, though Josh encouraged it by saying, "Sing along if you know the words; sing along if you don't know the words. That's kind of the motto tonight." Instead, the crowd swayed along with the summer breeze, becoming one with the music or succumbing to it as his vibrato and falsetto notes rattled the rafters of the Grandstand.
The band also treated fans to songs from their previous albums with songs like "Heat Above," "Highway Tune," and "Black Smoke Rising."
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The stage's spotlights not only illuminated the musicians but also their musical chops as the band members performed instrumental solos, slowing down and speeding up as the audience cheered louder and louder, wanting more.
Guitarist Jake Kiszka's technical brilliance created emotive power during the many guitar breaks and lengthy guitar solos, bending the strings with control and creating an almost cinematic feel to each note played.
Wagner's nearly 10-minute drum solo was an impressive display of stamina. The bombastic solo embodied a rainstorm and seemingly chased away rain clouds that had been looming over the fair.
The multi-instrumentalist Sam Kiszka, who switched from bass guitar to keyboards throughout the night, delivered a brief yet soulful bass break that sent a wave of sound that reverberated from the general admission pit to the back of the Grandstand.
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Each song seamlessly flowed into the next, with the band never leaving the audience wanting more by throwing themselves into the music headfirst.
The band has been compared to Led Zeppelin, from Josh's vocal style resembling Robert Plant to the band's energetic and charismatic live performances. To any skeptics at the concert, Greta Van Fleet proved that they are virtuosos even without the comparisons.
The band finished their set with "The Archer," and "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" before coming back for an encore set. Pride flags waved throughout the audience and the multigenerational crowd held up lighters and phone lights.
"Farewell for Now" capped the evening, "This song is written for this exact scenario," Josh told the crowd before performing the wistful and sincere song with his arm slung over his brother Jake.
"You know we would be up here until the sun came up if they'd let us," Josh said. "One way or another, we (will) get to see each other again."
Next up at the State Fair Grandstand is country star Brett Young on Monday at 8 p.m.
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Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and business reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Greta Van Fleet delivers an electric rock show at the Iowa State Fair
